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How highly do you value a link from the BBB?

What I would like to know is how valued a link from the BBB is. I've searched various forums and websites to try and put a value on it, but I can't find a whole lot of useful discussion on it and how it can affect rankings.

My ecommerce company has been approached by the BBB for Accreditation, which is something I've always been somewhat interested in. I realize many business owners either love/hate the BBB, but so far I have had several claims with them and they've always sided with my company, despite not being accredited.

The BBB rep immediately started spouting off the benefits of having the BBB link to you, and I could see that as being true. They have a DA of 96, and obviously not everyone can get a link on that website (money and good reputation required).

However, he probably exaggerated when he said often times businesses skyrocket in the rankings because of this backlink; he also seemed to think having the BBB code and badge that link to the BBB website seemed to affect rankings, which I don't think is correct.

I also think that having their badge on our website could increase sales conversion (and maybe even increase the number of people that complain to the BBB). I'm not too worried about the complaints since we don't have ethics problems. The accreditation is $750 (seems high) and I'm not sure if it's really worth that amount, but I could be wrong.

Would love some professional insight on if the BBB is worthwhile link or if it's overhyped and the money would be better spent elsewhere. At face value, it certainly seems like a good investment and I'd love to hear some insight as to how much value their backlink truly has to a company or if that money is better spent elsewhere.

BBB is one of those things that most business people have a strong opinion about (either for or against). From a pure SEO point of view, I consider it a very strong link. Here's why:

- From a pure SEO link perspective, the directory has a very high DA and MozRank (by far the highest MozRank of any of the directories recommended by SEOmoz)

- the directory is exclusive. You have to be a business owner to get listed. This prevents someone from listing 5 or 10 near-spammy sites, which crowd some other directories.

- they are very exclusive about linking out. It's kind of annoying, but if you don't pay them again next year, you're link will be gone fast! It ultimately ensures that they are not linking to businesses that are no longer operating. This increases the overall trust of the directory.

- the average consumer feels warm and fuzzy seeing a BBB banner, and viewing the businesses profile on the BBB website.

I think I paid something like $300 or $400 for it, so maybe the price varies depending on your region and business type? In any case, I'll continue to renew with the BBB every year.

This gets into the realm of opinion pretty fast - it can be shockingly difficult to measure the value of one link. Here are a few of my opinions:

(1) One link is one link. It's rarely the magic pill people want it to be, even from a very authoritative site. I've seen people get a link like this and then wait on their hands for a sudden change in rankings, and it almost never comes. If you're just starting out and you have little or no link profile, a strong link can kick-start you, but I wouldn't pay $750 just to get a link if your site is established (I'm not sure I'd pay it even if your site is new).

(2) DA and PA both matter, and how much each matters can really vary with the situation. Your profile on a deep page of BBB is not an authority=96 link. It will carry weight, but the weight of any given profile could vary a lot.

(3) BBB has gotten a bit more aggressive, IMO, and I suspect Google will devalue these links over time. People tell me that they haven't yet, in this case, but it is, in essence, a paid link. Any day, Google could say "These BBB links are counting too much" and just lower the volume. So, don't put all your eggs in one basket, no matter what you do.

Now, to be fair, your BBB listing does have other value, like using it as a trust signal. The business case for spending the money goes beyond SEO, and that's a decision you have to make for yourself. If 100% of your interest in the listing is for a followed link, though, I personally would spend the money elsewhere.

We're a pretty established site and have several very high quality links that were hard to get. From a pure SEO standpoint, I realize one link will not make a difference. But if we're able to keep accumulating high quality links such as this and (hopefully) not pay nearly as much, it would really increase our rankings and thus our business.

This would have to be a "value added" benefit...the link value has the advantage of the 96 Domain Authority, and the sample page I looked at had a 51 page authority.

The BBB rep I just spoke to about an address change and my own listing told me that you can be in many categories as long as they are relevant. This opens up additional link leverage from category/keyword listings with one membership. Examples are web design, search engine optimization (I did not see SEO), internet marketing, advertising-internet, marketing consultants, etc. so there may be more than one that fits for added link value.

There seems to also be space for a brief description, which could contain keywords

The Facebook and Twitter links are no-follow, and the web site link is a follow link, with no redirect, or anchor text.

The added value of having the BBB accreditation, and hopefully an A+ rating is the fact that not many web marketers have it and the search options on the BBB home page have a BBB accredited filter for category searches. Since our market is becoming more saturated by the minute, a BBB accredited logo on your home page may be a distinctive brand that encourages more confidence with site visitors. They also have a monthly pmt plan of $65. I'm considering membership for the above reasons. If I get one client as a result in a year it would pay for itself or more. Current clients may be impressed with the membership and more likely to give referrals. As far as authority and reputation, it would seem like it would help, maybe not in Google rankings directly, but in the social response to being A+ accredited. The listing that I viewed had a Share This widget, Google+1 button and Facebook like button on the profile page.Just some thoughts.

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